Chocolate fans can be made with pure chocolate for a crisp look, or with chocolate dough for a softer look. In either case, they can be made in a variety of sizes and designs.

• Warm a pan, melt and spread the chocolate, and chill as you would for solid, striped, feathered, or marbled chocolate curls.

• After chilling, brace the pan to prevent it from shifting as you work. Hold the bottom of a spatula or straightedge blade in one hand and the top edge in the other, at a slight angle (about 10 degrees) to the pan.

• Scrape sections of the chocolate in a slight arc, or fan shape, with one end of the scraper moving faster than the other. One side of the fan should have soft ruffles, while the other should come together in a tight gather. Gently pinch the gathered end before chilling again to set.